On Friday, the company obtained an autonomous testing permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, . Apple is now free to test three vehicles, all 2015 Lexus RX450h models, on the state’s public roads.

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An Apple spokesperson did not divulge any details regarding when and where it intends to begin testing the technology. Six drivers are authorized to be behind the wheel of the vehicles. The company’s first will be due by January 1, 2019.

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Apple is the 30th company to obtain a testing permit in California, and it joins its fellow tech giants like Tesla Motors, Uber and Google, which has an independent self-driving car subsidiary called Waymo, in the race to develop autonomous technology.

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Although there have been a multitude of reports regarding Apple’s secretive Project Titan over the past year, including some that indicated the company had scaled back its autonomous ambitions, the company has remained tight-lipped about its intentions. Until Friday, the surest signal it remained interested in self-driving technology came in December, when it on a new Federal Automated Vehicle Policy.

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Asked for comment on Friday’s developments, an Apple spokesperson referred back to the company’s December statement regarding the statements given to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

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“We’ve provided comments to NHTSA because Apple is investing heavily in machine learning and autonomous systems,” Apple said at the time. “There are many potential applications for these technologies, including the future of transportation, so we want to work with NHTSA to help define the best practices for the industry.”

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This story is developing and will be updated.

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Apple Receives a Permit to Test Self-Driving Vehicles

On Friday, the company obtained an autonomous testing permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, . Apple is now free to test three vehicles, all 2015 Lexus RX450h models, on the state’s public roads.

–

An Apple spokesperson did not divulge any details regarding when and where it intends to begin testing the technology. Six drivers are authorized to be behind the wheel of the vehicles. The company’s first will be due by January 1, 2019.

–

Apple is the 30th company to obtain a testing permit in California, and it joins its fellow tech giants like Tesla Motors, Uber and Google, which has an independent self-driving car subsidiary called Waymo, in the race to develop autonomous technology.

–

Although there have been a multitude of reports regarding Apple’s secretive Project Titan over the past year, including some that indicated the company had scaled back its autonomous ambitions, the company has remained tight-lipped about its intentions. Until Friday, the surest signal it remained interested in self-driving technology came in December, when it on a new Federal Automated Vehicle Policy.

–

–

–

–

–

–

Asked for comment on Friday’s developments, an Apple spokesperson referred back to the company’s December statement regarding the statements given to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

–

“We’ve provided comments to NHTSA because Apple is investing heavily in machine learning and autonomous systems,” Apple said at the time. “There are many potential applications for these technologies, including the future of transportation, so we want to work with NHTSA to help define the best practices for the industry.”